People v. Didley

572 N.E.2d 423, 213 Ill. App. 3d 910, 157 Ill. Dec. 354, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 819
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMay 17, 1991
Docket3-90-0406
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 572 N.E.2d 423 (People v. Didley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Didley, 572 N.E.2d 423, 213 Ill. App. 3d 910, 157 Ill. Dec. 354, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 819 (Ill. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

JUSTICE HAASE

delivered the opinion of the court:

The defendant pled guilty to two counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance in contemplation of receiving a specific sentence. He was not informed, however, that in addition to the stated terms and conditions of his sentence, he would be required to serve a two-year term of mandatory supervised release (formerly known as parole). We are now called on to determine whether a trial court’s failure to admonish the defendant as to the applicable term of mandatory supervised release renders the defendant’s plea of guilty involuntary. We conclude that it does.

On April 13, 1989, the defendant, Willard Didley, was charged by indictment with two counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance. On June 16, 1989, the defendant pled guilty to both charges. At the defendant’s plea hearing, the court informed the defendant he had a right to plead not guilty, to a trial by jury, and to present and confront witnesses. The defendant stated to the court he understood these rights. The prosecutor then explained the range of sentences to which the defendant would be exposed as a result of his plea. The defendant again stated he understood and that he wished to persist in his plea of guilty.

After the court was satisfied the defendant was pleading guilty knowingly and voluntarily, the court inquired whether there were any negotiated pleas in the case. The assistant State’s Attorney, Mr. Ted Hamer, replied that the parties had entered into a negotiation. Mr. Hamer then informed the court that the parties agreed that the defendant would be sentenced to 10 years in the Department of Corrections, pay fines in the amount of $3,200, restitution in the amount of $3,800, and pay the court costs within two years of his release. The court concurred in the plea and the defendant was sentenced accordingly.

On April 20, 1990, the defendant filed an amended post-conviction petition alleging his plea was involuntary because he was not advised that in addition to a term of imprisonment, he would be required to serve a three-year term of mandatory supervised release. At the post-trial hearing, the trial court found that the defendant had not been informed of the mandatory supervised release term. In an attempt to correct this error, the trial judge ordered the defendant not be required to serve the three-year mandatory supervised release term.

The People concede the trial court was without authority to enter an order abrogating the mandatory release term. (See People v. Morgan (1984), 128 Ill. App. 3d 298, 470 N.E.2d 1118.) The error having been confessed, we need not address the matter further.

The true issue before us is whether the trial court’s failure to admonish the defendant as to the applicable term of mandatory supervised release rendered the defendant’s guilty plea involuntary.

This exact issue was addressed in United States ex rel. Baker v. Finkbeiner (7th Cir. 1977), 551 F.2d 180. In Baker, the defendant pled guilty in the circuit court of Will County, Illinois, to charges that he had committed armed violence in violation of sections 33A — 2 and 12— 2(a)(1) of the Criminal Code of 1961 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, pars. 33A—2, 12 — 2(a)(1)), and violated the Illinois Hypodermic Syringes and Needles Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 22—53). The defendant pled guilty and was sentenced pursuant to an agreement reached by defense counsel and the prosecutor. As in the case at bar, Baker was not informed that under Illinois law he would have to serve two years on parole after his prison term expired.

While in prison for a subsequent parole violation, Baker filed a writ of habeas corpus claiming the circumstances surrounding his plea of guilty violated the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment. The basis of Baker’s claim was that he agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a specific sentence. The parties presented a negotiated disposition to the trial court for its approval. The court concurred in the disposition and sentenced him accordingly. Baker was never told about the mandatory term of parole he would be required to serve. This, Baker argued, violated the constraints of fundamental fairness articulated in Santobello v. New York (1971), 404 U.S. 257, 261-63, 30 L. Ed. 2d 427, 432-33, 92 S. Ct. 495, 498-99. Not being advised about the parole term also violated the due process clause because the sentence actually imposed upon him was more onerous than he had been promised. The court agreed and ordered that the State adhere to the agreement as originally presented to the court.

The People correctly point out in their brief that we are not bound by the decisions of Federal courts, other than the United States Supreme Court, concerning questions of constitutional law. (People v. Cosey (1978), 66 Ill. App. 3d 670, 674-75, 384 N.E.2d 95, 99.) We nonetheless choose to follow the Baker decision. Upon a careful reading of the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision in People v. McCoy (1979), 74 Ill. 2d 398, 385 N.E.2d 696, the fourth district’s opinion in People v. O’Toole (1988), 174 Ill. App. 3d 800, 529 N.E.2d 54, and a plain reading of Supreme Court Rule 402 (134 Ill. 2d R. 402), we are persuaded the court in Baker was correct.

In McCoy, the defendant pled guilty to a charge of burglary. The defendant was not informed that, in addition to a term of imprisonment, he would be required to serve three years on parole. The record showed the defendant pled guilty to the offense in exchange for a recommendation from the prosecutor that he be sentenced to one to three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. The court followed the prosecutor’s recommendation and sentenced the defendant to one to three years.

The defendant subsequently filed a post-conviction petition pursuant to the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1975, ch. 38, par. 122—1 et seq.), contending that the trial court’s failure to admonish him at the time of his plea that the mandatory parole term was a part of the sentence was a per se constitutional violation entitling him to post-conviction relief. The court dismissed the defendant’s petition, ruling that although Supreme Court Rule 402 does require a defendant be admonished that the mandatory period of parole pertaining to the offense is a part of the sentence that will be imposed (People v. Wills (1975), 61 Ill. 2d 105, 109, 330 N.E.2d 505, 508), every deviation from Rule 402 does not require reversal. The court opined that after a review of the entire record, it showed the defendant’s plea was made knowingly and intelligently, and failure to warn of the mandatory parole period did not constitute a per se violation of a defendant’s constitutional rights.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

People v. Lee
2012 IL App (4th) 110403 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2012)
People v. Guerrero
2012 IL 112020 (Illinois Supreme Court, 2012)
People v. Morris
925 N.E.2d 1069 (Illinois Supreme Court, 2010)
People v. Johnson
910 N.E.2d 677 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2009)
People v. Molina
882 N.E.2d 1212 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2008)
People v. Adams
869 N.E.2d 856 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2007)
People v. Whitfield
840 N.E.2d 658 (Illinois Supreme Court, 2005)
People v. Russell
801 N.E.2d 977 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2003)
People v. Fish
Appellate Court of Illinois, 2000
People v. Smith
Appellate Court of Illinois, 1996
People v. Tripp
618 N.E.2d 1157 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1993)
People v. Shuman
590 N.E.2d 99 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1992)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
572 N.E.2d 423, 213 Ill. App. 3d 910, 157 Ill. Dec. 354, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 819, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-didley-illappct-1991.